When Sarah Kunst returned from her REALITY journey, the echo of her Israel experience was apparent in many aspects of her life, from her day-to-day business to her take on black history and current events. Read more about Sarah’s experience in Israel and how she stays connected to all that she learned and observed.

REALITY: Describe what you do and how you are trying to make an impact.

Sarah: As Founder and CEO of Proday, the most diverse sports media company in the world, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to tell the stories of athletes and how to deliver those stories to people in a relatable way.

I always joke that I’m not an activist, I’m a capitalist who realized that if I was really going to achieve my career goals, I was going to need to do it while battling a system of racism and sexism. For women of color, so many doors are closed by default. And when you try to open them yourself, you’re “aggressive”. Since about 90 percent of sports writers are white men, at Proday, we work to communicate athletes’ stories to an audience that better reflects the athletes themselves; a community of interested and passionate fans who come from racially, ethnically and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds.

REALITY:  How has your REALITY shifted since your journey?

Sarah: The entire journey was such an amazing experience. No matter where we traveled, there was this intense weight of history that made everything so interesting and surreal. I didn’t really expect this, but it’s incredible to look back and realize how wandering around an ancient city and making new connections impacted my day-to-day business back home.

I also came home with a keener understanding of the similarities that can be drawn between the black experience and the Jewish experience. There is a common history there, of slavery, of strangers in a strange land and of persecution. I think there is a lot of power that can be generated from different marginalized groups coming together and saying, “Okay, this happened,” and then figuring out how to keep it from happening again.  

REALITY:  How have you stayed connected to Israel since your journey?

Sarah: My experience in Israel put a layer of reality on top of the things I was already watching or doing. Instead of hearing about the Syrian border and trying to imagine what it’s like, I can think, “That’s where I was standing.” I stay connected by staying on top of the news and applying what I think is now a more nuanced understanding of the challenges that are faced in that part of the world.

REALITY:  What would you like your REALITY community to know about you?

Sarah: I’m always traveling and in and out of different cities all over the country, and I really enjoy connecting with other REALITY alums along the way. And if you’re ever in LA, I’d love to bring you into my REALITY family in my neck of the woods, too!

REALITY:  What can the REALITY community contact you about?

Sarah: I’d love to grab a drink and talk to you about start-ups sports, or what’s going on in the world of venture capital.

 

The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation is proud to empower emerging leaders to explore their values, identity and new ways to strengthen their communities. We believe that as we work together to repair the world, it is important to share our diverse experiences and perspectives along the way. We encourage the expression of personal thoughts and reflections here on the Schusterman blog. Each post reflects solely the opinion of its author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Foundation, its partner organizations or all program participants.